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Amazing recordings here, talented musicians all. Great stuff, thanks for sharing. Greg

"Cool" to me means something different than "greatest". The coolist may also be the greatest but they are not interchangeable in my mind. That said (not to be argumentative ?), in defense of Sultans Of Swing I was instantly smitten with the catchiness of the guitar play overall by Mark Knopfler and the hooky nature of the lead work. It was really unlike anything I had ever come across musically in that uniqueness, I think because of the snappy percussive fingerstyle plucking technique he employs. I personally think this is very cool, and in truth, very difficult to reproduce. You do not see cover bands try to reproduce this song live, ever in my experience, and really capture the vibe of the original. Just like Matonanjin, I love this song. Only my thoughts on "Coolness".......? Greg

..and finally my golden throated friend John who provide 5 great blues songs on the 4th. He plays in a different blues/Americana band but I have played with him in 2 different bands in the past. The bass player is also in a blues band that publicly performs around the Portland area. The lead guitarist in the back and the drummer are my current bandmates. We are missing our regular bass player and primary lead singer ( I sing on 25% of our band songs, and do harmonies), and a harpist who had conflicts or otherwise couldn't attend this event. A lot of fun. I have a gig in 3 weeks with my Americana trio. I decided not to share my country songs with forum folks....didn't want to stimulate yawns or hoots.?

Another one....sorry about the video quality and fireworks in the background as well. A little scrappy getting back into the final chorus in unison but such is live impromptu performance sometimes.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=IbC6TQk-WLM&video_referrer=watch Here's one I got up on Youtube. I was fiddling with my low volume, a couple times on this song. I will try for another Greg

Really great stuff Cap. Your review of recording technique is fascinating as well. You are advanced in so many ways. Very special. Greg

Thanks for the advice all. Two things really caught my eye. I already do Steve's finger stretches and others in preparation before and during play. but my history of thumb problems from arthritis and surgeries have left me with a bad habit of compromised wrist position with my thumb straddling the guitar neck, over and along the neck, palm flush to the back of the neck-no space. I have been working on getting back to the proper hand position lately but old habits creep in when playing barre chords sometimes, especially when I have to drive the rhythm on our songs on more "rock-like" songs. Live situations are the worst for this relapse. Second, when I returned to playing guitar after my thumb surgeries, I found thin necked guitars the most comfortable, just as Steve has suggested. Playing thick neck guitars with my acquired compromised wrist position is more problematic. All of my guitars but one have thin necks. So, I have a couple of things to try out. Complete retraining my wrist to a better position and working with the thicker neck guitar to see if this makes a difference. If this is the trick, I may have a batch of very nice guitars to sell.... Greg

My son video taped the gig on his ipad. No individual pictures. I am not very tech savvy but I will try to see if I can upload one of our songs and share. Greg

Any advice for fret hand finger cramping after playing for extended times? I've been dealing with this a bit at band practices and at my last gig. Usually it occurs after a couple hours but at my recent gig, at about 1 hour. Fortunately we had another guitarist to take over the background rhythm while I tried to stretch out my fingers and went through some exercises to unwind the cramping. Greg

My 5 piece band has been on hiatus as of late. It happens when lives get busy.Three of us are retired, the other two work and have families with grade school kids so while the three of us are fairly free of obligations, two are not.We have an annual street party gig on the 4th, but this year was not working out for practices. No gig was planned......until one week ago when my drummer brother-in-law ( who lies on the block) decided to put one on without the harp player as the bass/primary lead singer was onboard. We gathered last Saturday for the only practice we would have before the gig, only to find the bass player couldn't commit to the gig and wasn't going to show up. Yikes! The billets were out that the street band was going to play and my brother-in-law was on the hook. I have been developing an Americana trio, an acoustic/light electric band over the last few week, for a gig at my financial advisers annual client barbeque in later July. We will do a fill between sets of a folk singer of 8 songs we have been working on. One member is also in the larger band, the other out of town for the 4th. So we were left with myself, this other guitarist and our drummer of a gig. We tried out the songs of the Americana set as well as a handful of songs I sing lead in the larger group to make a total of 13. We sounded ok but definitely were underwhelming without a bass. I began calling every bass player I knew and a couple of other guitarists who sing to see if I could round up some help. 48 hours before the gig, two friends pitched in, one a very good bass player, the other a singer/guitarist. who tossed in 6 blues songs I thought we could pull off and we had a band! I sent out chart sheets for my songs and the other vocalists shared his over emails. No practice beforehand, we gathered 3 hours before the gig, set up equipment, did a sound check and for 1 1/2 hours did a quick playing review of materials unfamiliar to each other. An hour to relax and hydrate and then we played for 1 1/2 hours . When you play with really good players, it is amazing how you can pull off something like this with so little preparation and no practice. All five of us have played with each other but never together as a group. We were not flawless, I had to button up a couple of my songs early because things were a bit flawed getting into choruses but all-in-all it was a success. I found that in events like this, people just want to hear the music. They are not in tune with whether there is a mistaken note or chord, or if the singer flubs the lyrics, but rather are just into the vibe of the moment. Music is an uplifting, positive experience for the performers and the audience. People thought we were great in spite of a few flaws that we might have noticed in our play. In reality, they really had no clue ( unless they are other musicians) of these mistakes. I also realized that musicians just want the opportunity to play and when asked, are very generous in helping out their friends in dire straits. They truly are some of my best friends. If you get the chance for public performance, jump on it. It is the most fun you will ever have with music. Greg

That is a fantastic guitar and a beauty as well. You lucky guy! Greg

Down in Battle Ground, north of Vancouver. I had kids that went to Eastern Washington, so I have spent much time in Spokane and environments but have never come across your neighborhood. Love your posts BTW. And your nickname? Greg

Very nice Opie. Thanks for doing this again. Wish I could have been there but this is a great substitute. Best wishes on getting well. Greg

I am am going to save this quote and hang it in my music room. If this doesn't inspire me to practice....... Greg I live in Washington Brad. Where is Nine Mile Falls?

Try playing just the 1 per bar for the first time through and count the 1's 4 times to get the fee l of the changes, if it is a straight 12 bar blues. If it is a quick change, one goes to the IV in the 2nd bar, returning to the I for bars 3 and 4. Add strums per whole beat as you begin to grasp the flow and changes. Or just mentally count..1,2.3,4 ...2,2,3,4 etc. Adding vocals definitely helps or playing to a specific 12 bar blues song or track. It starts getting tricky if it is an 8 bar , 16 or 32 bar blues-I Sing The Blues by Etta James is a great example of the latter. Trying to solo over that is a killer. Best of luck on this. Greg

Cool friends. This may be one of these most creative efforts yet... a very out of the box go at a composition since the inception of these projects. I wish I could have spent more time with you on this, life has become quite busy with my wife's surgery and upcoming gigs. Kudos to both of you. greg

What a nice series of reviews Diane. Thanks so much. It seems Steve and his organizing support crew keep upping the ante every year. So much variety , so much fun for all. Many memories and new friendships for those that attended, I am certain . Hopes for me that next year I won’t have to miss my summer trip to Nashville again. I want to start working on my Student Showcase performance already ! Greg

Congrats on the jam. Sounds like you are going to have a fun summer. Greg

Wonderful updates Diane. So nice to get a few play-by-plays to remind me how much fun this week is for attendees. Yesterday was my wife's surgery (she is doing great) so this is the first chance I've had to catch up on the goings on. Timing will be better for me me next year but until then thanks again for sharing your memories with us. Give my regards to all. Best wishes and have a great time. Greg

That pretty much defines some of my solos.....? Greg

Fun stuff Mandy. Tooling a round with built ins and sound options in GB is a great way to work on recording and mixing. One option-add some one or two note guitar stabs in the chorus phrase breaks, if that makes sense to you. Debbie Harry....? I think Diane is right! Greg

I will try to put together a drum track over the weekend. Not my strength...we will see how it goes. Greg

The mix is up in the Box for collaborators to review and post here. Sorry it took me so long. I worked with a friend who has a developed mix lab to learn some tips on mixing. Hope it passes the test. Greg

I think of all those guitar stores I visit with dozens of guitars hanging on the wall , some with acoustics in humidity controlled rooms hanging, and some not ( including expensive acoustics at Artisans, Cottons and Gruhns), reflect on this issue , and think hmmmm.... For me, expensive acoustics and hollowbody electrics in cases and the rest hang on the walls or guitar tree in my music den. Detune when not in active use. Greg

Love it! A true "woodworker". Greg